b'E R I C F or jewelers considering retirement when the M A COVID-19 pandemic dawned, the unprece-dented retail difficulties made it seem as good a A N time as any to shut their doors for good. But unlike other luxury markets such as travel and W E L E fashion, jewelry sales quickly began to boom, with a force few could have predicted. Many jewelers had their E R best years ever in 2020 and 2021.JAccordingly, its been an incredible time to be a new jewel-ry store, full of challenges but also strong consumer demand. A new crop of fine jewelry retailers helmed by first-generation jewelers has risen to the occasion, mix-ing a traditional brick-and-mortar experience with ecom-merce and social media sales, plus all the Zoom calls, Instagram Lives and FaceTime sessions the pandemic has necessitated. Nicole Ward, founder of fine jewelry sales agency CNW Group, is well acquainted with the new wave of jewelers around the country. Over the past few years, we have seen several new fine jewelry stores open that have been incred-ibly supportive of independent designers, she says. They each bring a distinct point of view to their respective markets and are eager to foster and support independent talent.Online fine jewelry shopping continues to expand, but new brick-and-mortar stores stand out to Ward, who represents designer clients Melissa Kaye, Sorellina, Robinson Pelham, Emily P. Wheeler, State Prop-erty, and Devon Woodhill Jewelry. Our brick-and-mortar partners are experts at cultivating relationships and building spaces where their clients can have a personal and meaningful experience. They go above and beyond to curate thought-ful events with their designers, which is instru-mental in building community, Ward explains.Simply put, as a consumer you trust them, look to them for guidance and want to shop with them. From our side of things, its very exciting to be a part of.Meet the independently owned stores that are leading the jewelry retail conversation today, making jew-elry destinations out of cities like Kansas City, Kansas and Charlotte, North Carolina. NATIONAL JEWELER 57'